


Blackbird Singing in the Dead of Night

by xX_Rabble_Rouser_Xx



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Action, Angst, Drama, Humor, Multi, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-24
Updated: 2016-04-26
Packaged: 2018-06-04 04:36:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6641680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xX_Rabble_Rouser_Xx/pseuds/xX_Rabble_Rouser_Xx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Protected from the wind-driven rain by an awning, Commander Erwin Smith surveyed the courtyard of the castle his Survey Corps used as their headquarters.  The monthly supply wagons had arrived, and with them were eighteen additions fresh from the Academy and one transfer from the Garrison Regiment.  Captain Levi held his usual flat expression.  After all their time serving together, Erwin could tell the difference between the looks, and this one conveyed something less than joy at the prospect of training new brats to their requirements in the Survey Corps...</p><p>(I suck at summaries so there's the first paragraph as a teaser. It'll be fine, I promise.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Timeline: spring after S01.
> 
> Canon-compliant to the first season of the anime, then diverges afterwards.
> 
> Rated M for future chapters.
> 
> The title comes from "Blackbird" by The Beatles, which I felt really speaks to the point of the story.

Spring

Protected from the wind-driven rain by an awning, Commander Erwin Smith surveyed the courtyard of the castle his Survey Corps used as their headquarters. The monthly supply wagons had arrived, and with them were eighteen additions fresh from the Academy and one transfer from the Garrison Regiment. Captain Levi held his usual flat expression. After all their time serving together, Erwin could tell the difference between the looks, and this one conveyed something less than joy at the prospect of training new brats to their requirements in the Survey Corps.

They weren’t able to discern much about the recruits under the rain ponchos, heavy packs, and ODM gear they all wore. They marched into the courtyard on foot two-by-two behind the supply wagons, and bringing up the rear was a lone person on horseback. The half-dozen supply wagons filed through the arch into the adjacent stable yard.

“Ranks!” a woman’s voice shouted sharply from horseback.

Immediately, the two lines separated into three rows facing the front of the castle. The rider paced her black horse behind them, scrutinizing the rows, pleased to find nothing but perfect precision. The recruits all stared straight ahead and held perfect salutes, left hands behind their backs and right hands curled into fists over their hearts. She guided the stallion to the front where Commander Erwin, Captain Levi, and fellow squad captains Hange Zoe and Mike Zacharius stood. The rider smoothly swung her right leg over the back of the saddle and slipped her left foot free of the steel stirrup to land with both feet. Her ODM gear clanked with the light impact. She dropped the reins to brush the flagstones, and the well-trained horse didn’t move from that spot. She pushed back the hood of her gray wool short cloak, Garrison issue, revealing auburn hair twisted back into a braided bun with chin-length fringe swept to the left side of her face. Her eyes were a deep cobalt blue and held a boldness that took no prisoners. She curled her leather-gauntleted hands into a textbook salute.

“Captain Anneliese Fischer and the cadets of the 105th Training Corps, reporting for duty, sir,” she announced crisply.

Erwin returned the group’s salutes and raised his voice to address them all. “I’m Commander Erwin Smith. Please allow me to welcome you all to the Survey Corps. We are honored by your service. May I introduce squad captains Levi, Hange Zoe, and Mike Zacharius.”

“Thank you, sir.” Anneliese nodded to each as they were introduced. Hange smiled, Mike gave a polite nod and slight smile, and Levi looked her up and down, reading her as respectful and straightforward.

“For the time being, Captain, continue to command the recruits,” Erwin said. “Dinner is almost ready. Dismissed.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.” Anneliese turned on her heel. “Recruits! Drop your packs where you stand! Unload the supplies! Retrieve your packs and go inside! Find your assigned bunks! Clean your boots and report for dinner! In that order!”

There were a few murmurs of complaint, but the recruits dutifully set their packs on the ground. So far, Erwin and the squad commanders were pleased with the new captain’s firm hand and initiative.

“If you have energy to talk, you have energy to walk!” Anneliese yelled at the dissenters. She picked up her horse’s reins and followed the recruits to the stable yard.

“I didn’t think it was possible,” Erwin smirked. “She’s shorter than you, Levi.”

Hange snickered, and Levi shot her a glare. Erwin may be allowed to make jokes on the rare occasion he was in a humorous mood, but that didn’t mean Levi had to tolerate others laughing. He was interested to see how this new captain reacted to jokes for being small.

“What does her record look like?” Mike asked.

“She was a member of the Garrison at Megiddo District in the west,” Erwin replied. “A year and a half ago, Titans broke the gate at Megiddo. The Garrison evacuated the population and held the city for three days until they could seal the breach. In the process, the captain was killed, and she took command. After she recovered from injuries sustained during Megiddo, she was officially promoted to Captain and spent some time with the Military Police before requesting a transfer to the Survey Corps.”

“I heard about Megiddo,” Levi said. “Casualties were minimal, under two hundred, for the whole three days.”

“Impressive,” Hange smiled. “You may have some competition for your title as Humanity’s Strongest Soldier!”

“Tch. I doubt it.”

He didn’t like the idea of someone riding one victory into picking and choosing where she went on a whim instead of accepting the duties assigned to her. She may have been successful in one battle, but whether or not she deserved their regard remained to be seen.

* * *

Half an hour later, the recruits were filing into the dining hall after dropping their packs at their assigned bunks. Some looked a bit unsettled, having been informed by more experienced Scouts of who had died and vacated that bunk. On a whole, however, the Scouts made room for the new recruits at their tables and engaged them in conversation. With their need to trust each other, hazing would be minimal and good-natured.

Captain Anneliese was the last to arrive, having taken extra time to house her horse and thoroughly clean her boots. She grabbed a bowl of stew and a roll from the side table and surveyed the room. Commander Erwin caught her eye and nodded her over to the officers’ table close to the row of three fireplaces banishing the spring damp from the dining hall.

“No need to be so formal,” he smiled, as she had saluted again.

“Yes, sir,” she nodded, planting her elbows on the table and spooning into her stew.

He introduced the others seated at the table besides himself, Levi, Hange, and Mike. “Eren Yeager and Mikasa Ackerman, two of our best fighters, and to your right is Armin Arlert, one of our top strategists.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you all,” Anneliese said shortly, briefly sweeping her eyes around the table before returning to her meal. She would study the others at a future time, but right now she was too tired and sore to care. She sat in a mixture of elegance and sloppiness, her back perfectly straight but leaning forward with her elbows on the table, her free arm loosely circling her bowl, one booted foot hooked around a leg of her chair. Levi fought the urge to wrinkle his nose in disgust as she sopped up broth with torn bits of bread.

Erwin caught a glimpse of something at the cuff of her white button-up uniform shirt and smiled slightly. “It would be polite to disarm at the table.”

She paused mid-chew and raised an eyebrow, but she obeyed. A knife was drawn from a sheath under her left sleeve. Another knife was drawn from her right sleeve. Two more came from sheaths hidden beneath her uniform apron. One from the left boot. One from the right boot. She pulled a large, deceptively-decorative U-shaped pin with needle-sharp points from the braided bun at the back of her head and let it clatter into the pile of weapons on the table. Finally, she pulled her brown leather gloves from where she had tucked them into her belt and dropped them from roughly a foot up onto the table. They landed with a thunk that indicated that even they were armored.

Hange suppressed a snorting giggle, and even Erwin chuckled. Mike gave an impressed smile, and Levi stared, his gray eyes slightly wider than usual. Obviously the stories of Megiddo being a vicious city were true, and the Captain had brought those tendencies with her. The younger ones gaped at her, glancing back and forth between her and the Commander with uncertainty. She smiled slightly as she casually rested her chin in her hand. She loved making first impressions that would stick in people’s minds, throw them off whatever preconceived notions they had of her, and indicate that she was not someone to be taken lightly. This was certainly one of her best displays. At Erwin’s direction, she put her weapons away, waving off curious glances from nearby tables.

“Are you expecting a fight?” Erwin asked, more than a little impressed with the simple but high-quality weaponry.

“I am never unarmed,” she replied simply. “I’m more comfortable this way.”

“I appreciate your enthusiasm, Captain,” Erwin said with amusement.

“Why don’t you tell us a bit about yourself?” Hange asked brightly.

Anneliese swallowed her stew and looked around the table. All were looking at her. She hated being put on the spot but there was no way to avoid giving an answer. She cleared her throat. “I appreciate hard work, efficiency, routine, and precision. I have no tolerance for disrespect, whining, or sloppiness of any sort. I expect a lot from my people but I give as much as I can in return. I’m here to do a job to the best of my ability, nothing less.” She signaled the end of her introduction by returning to her stew.

Erwin’s vigorous brows furrowed slightly. “What sort of routine is it you’re accustomed to, Captain?”

“The sort where my people are up for drills at dawn every day,” Anneliese replied. “With your permission, sir, I’d like to continue that with the new recruits. It’s a system that worked with my Garrison and I enjoyed it. I’d like to bring it here.”

He smiled when she referred to it as her Garrison. “Of course. How are the recruits looking so far?”

“Good,” she replied. “They just need some refinement, and I’m certain daily drills will sort that out. What are our plans long-term?”

“We’ll sort them into squads tomorrow, based on the assessments from Commandant Shadis at the Academy. We need to rebuild and flesh out all our squads, and I’d like you to lead one as well. We will, of course, sort the most skilled into Levi’s Special Operations Squad. We have a campaign planned in two months’ time. Based on how the expedition goes, we will continue monthly until winter.”

“Yes, sir,” she nodded confidently. “I’ll have the recruits up to snuff in no time.”

Erwin continued. “We also have daily duties in addition to our own training schedule. We maintain the castle and horses ourselves. Cooking, cleaning, laundry, and stable duties are by squad rotation. Supplies come monthly, and the village is just a couple hours away by horse for incidental needs. We have six medical officers, four veterinary officers, and four supply officers. With the new recruits, we have roughly 200 Scouts and 250 horses.”

“I have medical training as well,” Anneliese said. “I’m certified and experienced in emergency field medicine, and I’ve learned some herbal remedies.”

“You’ll have to teach me some,” Hange broke in, always excited at any prospect of furthering her knowledge in any way.

“Of course,” the new captain nodded. “Section Commander Hange, I’m aware of your research into Titan physiology, and I’d like to learn what I can from you in return.”

“Oh, no,” Mike muttered, rubbing his eyes.

Erwin held up his hand before Hange could break into a long-winded dissertation, and Hange huffed at the interruption. “Our standing objective is to reach Shiganshina, where we hope to find information on the source of Titans. We plan on establishing a base outside Wall Rose, in the Forest of Giant Trees between the Karanese District and the Shiganshina District.”

“What’s the plan?” Anneliese asked.

“I’m just giving you a brief overview,” Erwin said. “We’ll flesh out details at a later date.”

“Why come to the Survey Corps?” Levi asked suddenly. “Why not stay with the Garrison, or the MPs?”

She sat back in her chair, laying her hands on the wooden table top in a relaxed manner. Levi was pleased to see that her pose denoted nothing but full honesty. They could afford nothing less in the Survey Corps.

“Despite sealing the breach, Megiddo was abandoned, and the Garrison was disbanded into other districts. I was reassigned to the Military Police due to injuries that they thought would hamper me if I returned to a more active role, but I bounced back just fine and felt stifled with the MPs. I feel I will be most effective here now, and MP command came to agree with me.”

“We look forward to working with you,” Erwin smiled.

It had been unusual, receiving a letter with the transfer request from his old friend, Nile Dok, chief of the Military Police. It was brief, as Nile wasn’t one for sentimentality, but it spoke of his regard for the new captain and her diligent work to heal and improve, and how frustrated she was in the capital. Nile said that if Erwin would consent, her skills would be much more appreciated in the Survey Corps. Erwin was intrigued that his sensible friend was taking a personal approach with anyone. He signed off on the transfer, and a week later, he received news that Captain Anneliese Fischer would be escorting the 105th Training Squad cadets who had chosen to join the Survey Corps.

Anneliese finished mopping up stew with the last bits of bread. “With your leave, Commander, I’d like to turn in for the night.” She waited for her commander’s nod, then stood and adopted a firm stance, hands clasped behind her back. “Recruits! When you have finished, clean up after yourselves and push in your chairs. Get some sleep. You will be geared up and in the courtyard at dawn for drills. No exceptions. Is that clear?”

“Yes, ma’am,” they replied in unison but with little enthusiasm.

“Good. Sleep well.”

With that, she followed her own orders in leaving her place at the table clean before striding out of the dining hall. She had certainly been correct about being efficient: no more time was spent on dinner than was required. She left before anyone had another opportunity to try to make conversation with her. She seemed to neither need nor want social interaction. Erwin sipped his tea and looked at his officers for their opinions. Mike gave a cautiously approving nod. Hange smiled and raised her hands in a shrug. The younger Scouts looked unsure, leaving it to their superiors to direct their opinion.

Levi sipped his tea. “Tch. At least she’ll keep the place clean.”


	2. Chapter 2

Falling.

Always falling.

Never any sound, just movement.

Stepping backwards without looking. A stupid move. Always know where your feet are, she had drilled into everyone who set foot up on the wall. There were so many adrenaline-fueled thoughts on her mind that she forgot basic safety protocol.

Now she was paying for it.

Falling.

The multicolored sunset was obscured by clouds of smoke from cannon fire and steam from Titan corpses.

Left hand raised, pulling the trigger, sending the grappling hook up into the wall. The cable spooling out with a hiss. Pulling the second trigger to start reeling in. A hard click, a jolt, a broken gear jamming and suddenly releasing again, sending her down in an uncontrolled plummet towards the ground.

Instinctively she grabbed the cable to halt her descent. Another stupid move. Her hand burst open in a line of blood and exposed bone.

There was no time left.

Cobblestones rushed up.

* * *

She hit the floor with a swear that was muffled by tangles of blankets. She sat up and pushed sweaty strands of hair out of her face. She looked around the room. No, no one had heard. As an officer, she was granted a private room in the Survey Corps Headquarters, unlike the communal bunk room of the Garrison at Megiddo, and later with a roommate in the Military Police barracks. Before, she had learned to have nightmares quietly and return to bed comforted by breathing and sniffles around her, proof that her comrades were alive and well. She shakily pulled herself up to sit on the edge of the bed to catch her breath and calm her racing heart.

She tried to sleep again, only to startle awake twice in the next hour. She knew she wouldn’t be able to get comfortable enough to sleep more. She lit a candle on the desk in the corner. She dug her tool kit out from her half-unpacked saddlebags and sat down with her ODM gear. Though she had replaced it herself as soon as she had the use of her hand back, she still didn’t fully trust that left spool.


	3. Chapter 3

Dawn was wet and dreary, and the wind had picked up. Hange’s squad was already up and on breakfast duty, but Hange slipped away to join the commander and the other squad leaders to watch the morning drills. The courtyard smelled of wet grass and horses and all their associated scents. The recruits were sullenly assembled in three rows once again, facing the front steps of the castle, on which Captain Anneliese stood, also with her ODMG. She stood with booted feet shoulder-width apart, her gloved hands clasped behind her back, under her new green short cloak with the Survey Corps logo, the blue and silver Wings of Freedom, emblazoned across the back. Her hood was down, but she gave no indication that she was bothered by the wind blowing rain-dampened hair into her face. She barely even blinked, showing no sign of exhaustion from her sleepless night. She didn’t allow herself even the slightest smile as she surveyed the recruits in perfect formation, unmoving, silent except for the occasional sniffle.

“Thank you for your effort this morning,” she shouted finally. “Go inside, tear down, get some breakfast.”

Grumbles of disbelief spread throughout the recruits.

“Do it,” she yelled sharply. She held a stern expression and slapped a few grumbling heads as they passed her in single-file.

“You made them get up and into their gear just to send them back inside?” Levi asked.

“They’re all coming down with colds from the march in the rain yesterday. They can settle in and get into their mundane duties until they’re over the worst of it. I’m not entirely heartless.”

Levi wasn’t sure if he liked this new captain’s show of power. He knew the value of being firm with people, but this may be a bit heavy-handed. She was accurate in describing herself as requiring a lot of her soldiers. Was this how Megiddo had been commanded? It wouldn’t work well in gaining the trust of the other Scouts.

Anneliese breezed past the others with a curt nod. With one hand, she swept off her cloak and headed for the main stairs. A few minutes later, she returned to the dining hall without the bulk of her ODM gear. The sleeves of her white uniform blouse were rolled up past her elbows, and she had done away with sheathes under her sleeves.

It was a much more relaxed scene than the night before, owing to the budding familiarity between the old Scouts and new. She noted a few slumped in their chairs, still tired and sore from the march, and others with their heads on the table, making no noise but sniffles and grumbles. She stopped by a table where a young recruit listlessly poked at his oatmeal with his spoon. Sanders, one of the most vocal with his complaints during the previous day’s march. There seemed too much of him in every way: too loud, too tall, arms and legs too long, brown hair too unruly despite being cropped short.

“What’s wrong?” she asked sternly.

He looked up and his brown eyes went wide. “I— I’m kinda tired of oatmeal, ma’am.”

She gave him a scolding frown. “Are you hungry? Is it food? Then eat it before somebody else does. Jackass.”

She lightly backhanded his head before walking away. She got her own bowl of oatmeal and joined the officers’ table again. Only Levi was in attendance at the moment, but others were on their way over. She sat in the same spot she had the evening before. She took the tea cup and saucer already at her place and poured a cup from the pot in the center of the table.

“You certainly have a way of motivating people,” Levi remarked.

She gave an amused snort. “Motivating, sir? Sure, we can call it that.”

“I’m not your superior. You don’t have to call me sir.”

She simply nodded assent. Detecting again that she still had no desire for social interaction, Levi let it drop. They ate breakfast in relative silence.

Erwin shuffled through folders, rereading the files on their new recruits, digesting assessments and scores and mentally noting which section commanders they may best serve under. He also had Anneliese’s file and was matching the paper with the flesh-and-blood woman in front of him. She was five feet tall and not a quarter inch taller, and her 125 lbs weight was mostly muscle. Her compact body structure was usually hidden under the uniform: white trousers, khaki short jacket, and, as he would come to find out, she preferred a white, gray, or black button-up blouse over a tank top in a subdued color.

Left to her own thoughts, Anneliese surveyed the room and began organizing her own thoughts about her fellow officers’ personalities from reading their body language and mannerisms.

Erwin and Mike were calm and relatively relaxed. Erwin’s blond hair was swept to one side above blue eyes, and he was clean-shaven. He leaned back in his chair, casually holding his teacup and saucer in his left hand, his expression implied deep thought but betrayed no detail. He was tall, muscular, a commanding presence both with his body and his voice. Anneliese had heard nothing but praise and confidence in the man’s skills. She respected him based on reputation, both what was widely known and what Nile Dok had told her, but she knew it would take time to get used to a new commanding officer.

Mike’s blond hair was roughly parted down the middle, he had jade green eyes, and he sported a scruffy mustache and goatee. He had a habit of smelling people upon meeting them, and he had inspected Anneliese the evening before on her way in from settling her horse, Ned, in the stables. She had allowed him, standing perfectly still and showing no discomfort by close proximity. She had smelled like grassy fields, minty muscle rub, and slight damp of sweat under her warm wool cloak. She was intrigued at how he declined to give any reaction, much less an assessment out loud, before walking away again. Mike was even taller than Erwin, but Anneliese was not intimidated by him.

Energetic Hange was scribbling in a notebook between bites of oatmeal. Her brown hair was back in a ponytail but her bangs fell in front of her glasses. Her brown eyes sparkled with golden tints as she excitedly doodled and jotted notes and theories. Her upbeat and outgoing personality was slightly off-putting to the introverted Anneliese, but it was a sacrifice she was willing and able to make to learn more about the Titans from her fellow section commander and hopefully further their efforts against the brutal giants. Anneliese always sought balance in her life, and perhaps the extroverted Hange would provide a good counter for Anneliese’s tendency to hermit herself away recently.

Levi’s silence suggested more that he could think of twelve thousand things he would rather be doing than sitting around a table with other people. His undercut black hair partially obscured steel-gray eyes. He wore a neat white cravat with his button-up uniform shirt. Anneliese noted that he had an odd habit of holding his teacup across the top; Anneliese held hers around the bowl with her middle finger through the handle and her pinky finger crooked under the bottom. His aloofness was intriguing. She had heard a thing or two about this Captain Levi, Humanity’s Strongest Soldier, and though she didn’t express it, she was very excited to work with him and see if he lived up to the grand reputation others spoke of. She took it as a challenge and silently looked to him to set the bar for her skills and her training of the recruits.

The other Scouts that had joined them for dinner sat with the other younger ones for breakfast. Eren, Mikasa, and Armin were almost always together.

Anneliese had previously heard of Eren Yeager, the so-called Human Titan, and she wasn’t yet sure what to think of the lean young man with shaggy brown hair and passionate blue-green eyes. She had heard from other Garrison and Military Police that he was a monster and not to be trusted, and that he should be executed and dissected immediately. However, Anneliese knew that Dot Pixis, Commander of the Garrison Regiment, had confidently used Eren’s Titan abilities to seal the breach in the wall at Trost, and Pixis was one of the very few people Anneliese trusted implicitly. Eren was easy to read and quick to give voice to his thoughts and feelings.

Black-haired and inky-eyed Mikasa seemed attached to Eren, but Anneliese wasn’t aware of the details or extent of their relationship. Mikasa was quiet and seemed almost elusive, in such contrast with Eren, occasionally ducking her face behind the red scarf she always wore. But her distance wasn’t cold like Levi’s. She was visibly attentive and caring to her friends, especially Eren. She was both bold and skilled in combat and was the top choice for Captain Levi’s Special Operations Squad.

Anneliese liked Armin already. The slight young man with blond hair and sky blue eyes was intelligent and well-spoken, but she detected a shy uncertainty about him as she watched him allow his friends to lead the conversation at the other table. He had reportedly been instrumental in forming the plan to retake Trost, and that fact impressed Anneliese. He appeared genuinely good-natured, but perhaps a bit high-strung. She had little doubt that left to his own devices, away from his friends’ influence, he would not have joined the Survey Corps and would have instead devoted his life to more scholarly pursuits.

There was a definite divide in the Scouts. The new recruits sprawled casually around the tables, but their bravado covered their fear of the danger and potential for death. Most had never seen a Titan. The older Scouts seemed just as relaxed, but it was to hide that the fear had been realized, that they had been affected so deeply by their experiences. Fellow Scouts, classmates, and friends had been lost, casting a pall over the existence that continued, now tragically emptier. Anneliese knew that feeling too well. Out of two hundred members of the Garrison at Megiddo, barely a quarter had survived. She remembered every name of every person who had died. She rubbed her aching forehead and reminded herself to keep her emotions in check.

Erwin noticed Anneliese’s slight smile drop into a frown. “Something troubling you, Captain?”

“No, sir.”

Erwin allowed the dodge. Eventually she would open up, he hoped. The Scouts were well-disciplined and capable, but being able to trust one another and rely on one another’s skills and instincts was crucial. Erwin had a hard time reconciling the polite, by-the-book woman who sat at his table with the one in the file folder who had a history of disciplinary actions for insubordination and an assault. He reminded himself that Levi had come from a rougher background and had become his most loyal soldier, and he decided to reserve judgment for later.


	4. Chapter 4

Daily drills for an hour or two every morning before breakfast began once the cold had finished its romp through the Survey Corps. Anneliese ran the new recruits through a range of batteries as the days went on, from runs through the surrounding fields, to ODM gear practice in the forests, to horsemanship, to hand-to-hand combat when, as she stated, she was antsy and felt like kicking some ass. Yelling was at a maximum during drills, when a wide range of colorful insults would be directed at whichever jackass had her attention. Later in the day, she gave informal lunchtime lectures on what she had been trying to address in the drills: endurance, reflexes, and the necessary divide between intellect and instinct, duty and emotion. She continually assessed her squad, giving instruction where needed and recognition where deserved. Over and over, she stressed that everything was a learning experience.

She always joined the officers’ table for dinner, though as briefly as possible without risking being considered rude. She continued to evade personal questions from her commander and fellow officers, but she joined conversations more freely as time went on. She engaged in conversation with the other captains during mealtimes and during duties and training. She didn’t hesitate to ask questions or to say she didn’t know something. She seemed to believe that everything was a learning experience for herself as well as to the recruits. The person she conversed with the most was Commander Erwin when he observed the drills. He remarked that her methods of intimidation and instruction were similar to the indomitable Keith Shadis, Commandant of the Academy and previous Commander of the Survey Corps, and she took it as a compliment. The new Scouts were sharpening up and becoming the soldiers they liked to see.


End file.
